In the forest.
Five shinobi, none wearing any village forehead protectors, were moving together along the treetops.
"We're almost at the port, right?"
One of them looked ahead and asked.
The leader was holding a map of the Land of Frost. He studied it for a moment and replied, "We should be able to see it soon if we keep heading in this direction."
"Can't believe how rich this country is... Just looting a few towns gave us more money than we'd usually earn in ten years' worth of missions, hahahaha."
One of them patted the scroll in his pouch and grinned.
They were all rogue shinobi from a small village. Missions had always been scarce, and their village had completely collapsed during the Third Great Ninja War.
They had originally planned to rob a merchant ship, but by chance they heard about the Land of Frost's wealth and decided to come here to strike it rich. Their plan was to loot and escape by ship, no one would be able to trace them.
"This haul should let us live in peace for a few years."
The one at the back chuckled as he bit down on his pipe.
The group moved along at a leisurely pace toward their destination.
But just then, the one holding the map suddenly tensed. His expression changed drastically as he snapped his head to the side and shouted, "Watch out! Ninja!"
Whoosh!
Almost at the same moment, a figure appeared behind them, hands quickly forming seals. Chakra surged, and the frost on the nearby branches melted rapidly, coalescing into flowing water.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Jutsu!"
Roooaar!!!
A dragon formed from water surged forward, crashing into the last rogue ninja and slamming him viciously into a tree before he could react.
The remaining four were startled.
"Mist ninja!"
"Run!"
They were from a small shinobi village, naturally, they feared one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages like Kirigakure. Without hesitation, they turned to flee.
But in an instant, a figure appeared in front of them.
"Water Release: Water Dragon Jutsu!"
Mei Terumi, her expression cold, formed hand seals and exhaled. A roaring water dragon burst out, engulfing the lead rogue and smashing him into the ground.
The remaining three turned pale.
"D-Dammit…"
"We're surrounded…"
As they saw more and more Mist shinobi closing in through the fog, fear overtook their faces.
The Kirigakure shinobi that had gathered wore cruel smirks.
One of them unsheathed a short sword and grinned. "Lady Terumi, don't waste chakra on them... Killing with blades is much more satisfying."
"Hey, leave one for me, you bastard," another said, pulling out a kunai with a vicious smile.
Mei Terumi shook her head slightly and lowered her hands from the seal.
Unlike most of the Mist ninja...
Though she had survived through bloodshed and brutality, she took no joy in killing, especially not in torture or cruelty. But she wouldn't stop others from indulging.
As the grinning Mist ninja closed in, the three rogues from the small village trembled, faces pale. One of them clenched his teeth and formed a seal with his hands.
"We can't run, might as well fight!"
"Yeah. No choice."
The other two also grit their teeth, preparing for a last stand.
The three Mist ninja approaching didn't attack immediately. Instead, they mocked them.
"Struggle a little, will you? It's no fun if you just stand there."
To them, the chakra levels of these three were pathetic, barely at genin level. Not worth taking seriously.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Two Mist ninja dashed forward.
In the blink of an eye, with a clean cross-slash, they severed the necks of two of the rogue shinobi. Blood sprayed instantly.
"D-Dammit…"
The last rogue ninja stood frozen in terror. His hands trembled as he tried to form seals, but he was so scared he could barely move.
The last Mist ninja leaned lazily against a tree trunk, tapping his forehead protector with the edge of his kunai as he watched mockingly.
The rogue ninja finally managed to complete the seals.
"Ninja… Ninjutsu!"
He thrust his hands forward, trying to release a technique. But nothing happened, not even a breeze.
The Mist ninja burst out laughing.
"Hahahahaha!"
"I was going to give you a fighting chance, but you can't even cast a damn jutsu. Whatever, I'll end it now!"
Just as he gripped his kunai to strike,
He froze.
Not just him, every Mist ninja around them froze.
Even Mei Terumi raised her head and looked toward the sky.
"Hey, hey… This has gotta be a joke, right?"
"No way…"
Their eyes widened, and cold sweat formed on their foreheads.
In the sky above them,
A massive meteorite, wreathed in blazing flames, was plummeting straight down.
It hadn't even hit yet, but to their eyes, the entire sky had already turned crimson, and the pressure it exuded was like the wrath of heaven itself.
That guy's ninjutsu… summoned this?!
You've gotta be kidding!
"Is this… a genjutsu?"
Someone murmured in disbelief.
Mei Terumi, beads of sweat trickling down her face, suddenly snapped out of it. She turned and bolted.
"It's not genjutsu! RUN!!"
Her shout snapped the others out of their trance. Panic set in as they all turned and fled, but the meteor was already too close.
Wreathed in crimson flame,
BOOM!!!
The meteor struck the ground, causing a massive crater. A towering mushroom cloud erupted into the sky.
A terrifying shockwave radiated outward, instantly overtaking all of the fleeing Mist ninja, including Mei Terumi, engulfing them completely.
Nearby trees were flattened as if they were twigs.
Time passed.
Amidst the ruins, the ground split apart at the center.
A battered figure crawled out, Mei Terumi. Blood trickled from the corner of her lips. She staggered, bracing herself against a massive rock to stay standing.
"What the hell was that…"
She looked out at the devastation, at the flattened land stretching to the horizon. Her mouth twitched uncontrollably.
Well, that's one more entry for the "mission went horribly wrong" record. This might even be the first time in Mist Village history that someone encountered a meteorite during a mission.
"Cough… cough cough…"
Clutching her chest, she coughed violently, blood splattering from her lips. She could feel the severe internal injuries wracking her body.
She probably couldn't even move to find help in this condition. There was no way to treat such serious wounds on her own.
As she leaned against the stone, struggling to stay upright and wondering how she could survive,
Her gaze froze.
She looked, stunned, toward the bottom of the crater.
Crack! Crack!!!
The meteorite at the center of the crater began to fracture. Splits appeared across its surface, and then,
It shattered completely.
From its broken core, a figure emerged.
"I'm back…"
"That was pretty quick."
Kaede raised his arm and stretched lazily. Then, sensing something, he tilted his head and looked off to one side.
His eyes met Mei Terumi's.
Mei Terumi's mind went completely blank.
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